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Scotland & NI 161/01
16 June 2001
THREE KILLED AS CAR SHOOTS OVER CLIFF
by Iain Grant and Donald
Fraser
Courtesy of the Press &
Journal
At least three
teenagers were killed last night (15 June 2001) when their
car plunged off a 100ft cliff-top road on the outskirts of
Wick.
A full-scale search was mounted after the accident on the
single-track road to South Head.
Three bodies were recovered soon afterwards and taken into
an emergency tent provided by Wick Airport.
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The cliffs near South Head, Wick
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The
car was heading out of Wick when it went off the road after
a sweeping right-hand bend next to the old coastguard
station, then plummeted into the sea.
One of the worst accidents the Caithness area has seen in
the past decade, the tragedy left the town in shock.
Distraught relatives had rushed to the crash site to be told
about the tragedy. A coastline search involving police and
coastguards continued after the bodies were lifted, because
of fears of another casualty.
Fire, police, ambulance and coastguard crews were called to
the accident scene at about 6.30pm.
A RAF Sea King helicopter from Lossiemouth was also
scrambled. The operation was co-ordinated by Aberdeen
Coastguard,
Watch manager Steve Quinn said the car, a yellow Mini, was
pulled from the water and hauled up a steep incline at about
8.05pm.
He said: "Divers attached lifting straps to the car and
the crane. The car was recovered by the crane, and lifted to
level ground at the area above where the car went in.
"From the moment they got the straps on the car, it
took about 10 minutes. There was no time wasted at all. It
went down quite a steep incline into the water."
Mr Quinn added: "We could potentially be looking for
another one or two people and have called out extra
auxiliary coastguards.
"We now have upwards of 20 auxiliary coastguards in the
area to do a coastal search north and south of the area
where the vehicle went into the water.
"With the present weather and tide conditions, if
someone had been thrown free, they would have remained
pretty well in the area."
Two fire brigade units from Wick and the emergency tender
from Inverness had to cut the roof off the mangled wreckage.
Auxiliary coastguards deployed an inflatable building of
about 40ft by 40ft around the car. That allowed the
emergency services access away from the public gaze. The
accident happened on the single-track road which passes
close to the cliff edge at South Head.
A fresh skidmark was left on the right-hand grassy verge.
The Caithness town was trying to come to terms with the
tragedy.
Jim Oag, Highland councillor for the South side of Wick,
said: "It is a very sad night for the area. There will
be several families suffering tonight.
"My heart goes out to the relatives of the dead.
"The area is not known as an accident blackspot but I
do remember one incident when a woman fell off the cliffs
while she was chasing her hat on a windy day."
Graeme Smith, councillor for the North side of Wick, said:
"The crash site is not well known as an accident
blackspot . . . The drop beside the cliffs is sheer and it
is doubtful that anyone would have stood a chance." |
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